The installation of electrical wires and cables at a construction site is normally accomplished in a series of steps. For commercial and industrial construction, electrical boxes and conduits are installed on the walls or in the framed structure of the building. It is not unusual for the space between floors or spaces above drop ceilings to be used for runs of conduit and cable. Secondly, insulated copper conductors are pulled through the conduits and into the boxes. Thirdly, the conductors cut to appropriate lengths, insulation is stripped from the end of each conductor, some conductors are connected to others in the same box, and fixtures, switches, outlets, and other electrical devices are connected to the ends of the remaining conductors. For residential construction (and even for some light commercial and office construction), electrical boxes are installed in the framing of the building. Secondly, holes are drilled in the framing for runs of cable between the electrical boxes. Thirdly, cables having multiple copper conductors are pulled through the holes in the framing and into the electrical boxes. Fourthly, the cables are cut to an appropriate length, protective sheathing is removed from the end of each cable, with a small amount of sheathing remaining where it enters the electrical box. Fifthly, insulation is stripped from the ends of each of the conductors, come conductors are connected to others in the same box, and fixtures, switches, outlets and other electrical devices are connected to the ends of the remaining conductors. It will be appreciated to those skilled in the art that these three steps require a substantial amount of materials and labor, both of which affect the overall cost of the electrical work. Those skilled in the art of electrical work recognize that the process of installing electrical wiring in aircraft and ships most closely resembles the process used for installing electrical wiring in commercial buildings.
Electrical cables are frequently obtained from the manufacturer in a corrugated paperboard box. A center portion of one side of the box is removable so that one end of the cable can be pulled from the box. As the box does not rotate as the cable is extracted, twists are imparted to the cable. Single conductor insulated wire is almost always provided on a spool, which can be placed on an axle so that the wire can be unwound from the spool without imparting twists to the wire. In larger quantities, cable is also available on spools. For commercial wiring work, it is frequently necessary to pull many individual conductors at once through a single conduit. In order to prevent the wires from becoming tangled during the pulling operation, and to minimize the cross-sectional area of the pulled bundle, it is essential that the wire either be laid out on the ground in a bundle having no twists, or that the individual wires be unwound simultaneously from a rack on which the spools are mounted on axles so that the wire bundle can be pulled through the conduit without twists, kinks, or tangles. The task is made more difficult by the fact that wires may be of different size (i.e., current carrying capacity), and provided on different diameter spools. In the case of commercial buildings or similar structures, typically on the order of six to twelve or more wires may be pulled at the same time. In the case of large aircraft and large ships, the simultaneous pulling of between forty and sixty wires through electrical conduits is not uncommon.
Electricians are not the only tradesmen who routinely need to dispense multiple wires and/or multiple cables. Television cable installers and computer network installers have similar needs. For all of these applications, a wire and/or cable dispenser should have certain characteristics to provide maximum efficiency and convenience for the user. First, a dispenser of electrical wire or cable (hereinafter 30 referred to as a wire/cable dispenser) should hold a plurality of wire/cable spools. Second, the wire spools should be directly observable to check the amount of wire remaining on each spool. Third, each wire spool should be easily replaceable when it becomes exhausted, with the removal of other spools being held to an absolute minimum. Fourth, the wire spools held by the wire/cable dispenser should not free spin in a coasting manner as the wire is dispensed therefrom. Free spinning is a problem 5 because it can cause tangles as the wire is unwound. Fifth, the wire/cable dispenser should be portable. That is to say that it should be capable of being readily transported between work sites and manually movable to different areas if a particular job site. Finally, the wire/cable dispenser should be easily locked in a desired location so that it does not creep or roll as wire or cable is dispensed therefrom.
Electrician racks and carts, on which spools of wire can be mounted for the simultaneous, untangled and unkinked unwinding of multiple wires have likely been available for more than a hundred years. Over that period, available racks and carts have become generally more transportable, lighter in weight and better adapted to electrical installation work. As will be seen from the following descriptions, a plethora of electrician wire rack and cart patents have been patented.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,230,591 to Lou Gray discloses an inclined display rack for holding spools of wound electric wire of various grades and gages. The rack is designed such that wire from multiple spools may be unwound simultaneously. The rack, though lacking wheels, could be moved to different locations, either with the spools of wire in place, or by removing the spools and moving the rack and spools separately.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,957,644 to Gerald M. Beardslee discloses a conveniently transportable rack for retaining a plurality of spools of wire on tubular latched cross supports. Wire can be dispensed from multiple spools simultaneously.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,856,230 to Edward J. Zimmer discloses a wire dispensing cart that is combination of a two-wheeled hand dolly and a rigid supplemental frame superstructure that is adapted to hold a plurality of axles in a ladder like configuration. At least one spool of wire can be suspended from each of the axles. Wire can be dispensed from one or more spools simultaneously.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,533,091 to Reed H. Knight discloses a portable multiple-spool wire dispenser. The wire dispenser includes two brackets adapted to mount on the spaced-apart support legs of a step ladder, and a spool-supporting shaft spanning the distance between the brackets and secured to each of them. The shaft is mounted so that one end thereof can be swung out for adding or removing spools.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,308 to Norman P. Tussing discloses a cart for use by 5 electricians, which has a main longitudinal member supported at its ends by pairs of wheels with one pair being of the swivel type to facilitate passage through narrow doorway openings of a building. End-mounted post assemblies on the longitudinal member are equipped with arms for the optional carrying of wire reels or electrical conduit. Each post assembly includes at least one sleeve through which may be inserted a spindle on which a large reel of wire may be carried.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,349, also to Norman P. Tussing, discloses a cart for transporting wire spools as a job site and having a tee-shaped frame with a three wheel undercarriage. A spool support includes a post with arms on which wire spools are rotatably carried.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,285,981 to Steven M. Pavelka discloses a spooled wire dispenser cart, which includes a central frame and a plurality of spaced spool bars. At the free end of each spool bar is a spool retainer. Each spool retainer includes an elongate element which has an unblocking position relative to the spool bar, which permits wire spools to be freely slid over the free end of the spool bar and a blocking position which prevents wire spools from sliding over the free end of the spool bar. The wire cat may also include a folding handle having an extended maneuvering position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,012 to Carsen S. Fuller discloses a folding wire cart convertible into a float and handtruck. The wire cart has a body rotatably attached to a base, main wheels secured to the base, and a handtruck handle. Additionally, the
25 convertible folding wire cart has a float handle and swivel wheels spaced apart from the main wheels and adjacent the handtruck handle so that the wire cart may also be used in a float configuration.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,316,232 to John A. Lambert, Jr. discloses an omnidirectional wire dispenser for transporting and dispensing single and multiple wires in any direction. The wire dispenser comprises a boxlike outer frame, with wheeled legs, a parallel inner shaft, with perpendicular spool holders thereon, and spool tension bars. The top out frame contains individual wire guide windows, which permit omnidirectional dispensing of one or more wires from spool holders without repositioning the dispenser.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,687,928 to Daniel T. Lassiter discloses a rack for rotatably mounting one or more wire dispensing spools. A set of four rollers extend horizontally 5 between a pair of spaced parallel side walls and are positioned in a generally square-shaped configuration and rotatably mount and retain the spools therebetween. Each roller includes a cylindrical low-friction plastic sleeve mounted on a center support rod or axle. A plurality of spacers separate the sleeve into a plurality of sleeve sections, thereby allowing the spools to rotate independently of each other without affecting the rotation of adjacent spools. A top roller of each set is spring biased and moves horizontally within a pair of aligned slots formed in the spaced side walls, thereby allowing the spring biased roller to move horizontally toward and away from the other top roller of each set so that the spools may be easily inserted or removed from the rack. Front and rear wheels and a handle allow the rack to used as a cart to transport the spools and other equipment and materials to and from the work site.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,944,280 to Angelo S. Dimitri discloses a hand-carried wire spool rack for dispensing wire. The rack includes a frame having a pair of horizontally extending parallel members for rotatably supporting at least one removable wire spool. The members are spaced apart by a distance that is less than the diameter of the spool. An upper member is secured to the frame and extends parallel with one of the parallel members. The upper member is positioned upwardly and outwardly from one of the parallel members. The wire spool is positionable in a first position in rotatable supported engagement with one of the parallel members and the upper member when a dispensing force is exerted on the wire spool which is generally greater than the relative weight of the wire spool.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,887,819 to Francis Korn, et al. discloses a rack for dispensing wire or tubing from spools rotatably mounted on a rod supported at its ends by retaining slots in opposing sides of a rectangular frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,967,451 to HristosRadaios discloses a carrier for one or more rotatably-mounted spools of wire. The carrier is portable, and is suitable for the separate or simultaneous dispensing of wire from one or more wire spools housed within the carrier. The carrier includes a central rod, which is inserted through the center of each spool. The carrier further includes a generally semi-circular cradle positioned below the wire spools. A pair of end walls supports the semi-circular cradle. Channels in the end walls permit rotation of the cradle relative to these end walls. The 5 channels are formed by a generally circular cut-out in each of the end walls. The carrier also includes one or more slots in the cradle for the passage and dispensing of the wire through these slots.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,116,533 to Doyle Elder discloses a wheeled dispenser for dispensing wire from spools. The dispenser has a rectangular frame, three stationary vertical posts, and two rotatable vertical posts each located between two stationary posts. Each rotatable post has a plurality of laterally projecting rods for supporting spools. The rotatable post can be rotated to a first position such that the rods are accessible for loading spools, and rotated to a second position wherein each rod can latch to an adjacent stationary post, with the spools held parallel so that they all pay out wire in one direction. The dispenser also has wheels and a handle which can incline relative to the frame. A pin arranged to close a clevis secured the handle in a substantially upright position relative to the frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,182,920 to David G. Watkins discloses a collapsible dolly for dispensing cable or wire from spools mounted thereon. The dolly includes a frame
20 body having first and second ends, a substantially vertical support having upper and lower ends and an inclined support having first and second ends, with at least one of the supports including a spool axle. The lower end of the vertical support is releasably pivotally affixed to the first end of the body, the first end of the inclined support is releasably affixed to the upper end of the vertical support and the second end of the inclined support is releasably pivotally affixed to the second end of the body. The dolly also includes an optional handle releasably pivotally affixed to the second end of the body and interchangeable with an extendible elevating cable boom.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,270,094 to William F. Campbell discloses a wire dispensing utility cart adapted to carry wire spools for dispensing wire during installation. A relatively large utility cart is provided for carrying multiple large spools of wire in a mobile fashion for dispensing wire during the installation of electrical wiring in buildings, structures, aircraft, and the like. The cart provides at least two elongated storage bays to facilitate transportation of relatively large objects such as ladders, conduits and other materials and supplies needed for the installation process.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,422,504 to Doyle W. Elder discloses an easily-maneuvered, 5 four-wheeled cart upon which a number of spools of wire, or other spooled material, of either like size or different sizes can be rotatably mounted along an inclined plane such that wires can be pulled from multiple spools without becoming entangled one with another. A wire guide aids in bringing the various wires together as a bundle for pulling as a single unit.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,523,777 to Michael F. Gaudio discloses a portable wire spool caddy for releasably holding at least one cylindrical spool having an outer diameter while a wire or the like is being unwound from the spool. The caddy comprises an elongated frame which includes first and second spaced apart ends, a plurality of generally parallel fixed rods which each extend between and are connected to the first and second ends, and at least one movable rod which is generally parallel to the fixed rods and which extends between and is pivotably connected to the first and second ends. The movable rod is pivotable between a first position in which the movable rod is separated from an adjacent fixed rod by a second distance that is less than the diameter of the spool, and a second position in which the movable rod is separated from the adjacent fixed rod by a third distance, which is greater than the diameter of the spool. When the movable rod is in its first position, the spool is retained between the movable rod and the fixed rods, and when the movable rod is in its second position, the spool may be removed or inserted between the movable rod and the adjacent fixed rod. U.S. Pat. No. 7,150,459 to Jay Anderson, et al. discloses a manually-operated wheeled reel support and dispensing cart for supporting multiple reels of material and for dispensing the material from the reels. The cart includes a cart frame having spaced side members, handles for manual cart handling and a top cross brace, which the frame being connected to a support plate and wheel assembly. A plurality of spindle hinge elements, each having a pivot opening, are fixed in spaced relation on one of the frame side members and receive L-shaped removable spindle elements for pivotal opening and closing movement. When open, the spindle elements are supported so that reels can be added or removed. When the spindle elements are closed, the secure reels of material to the cart.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,243,876 to Clyde R. Robison discloses an apparatus for handling wire spools. The apparatus includes a brace and a spool handle removably connected to the base. A spool is mounted on the handle and thereafter a user picks up the handle and mounts it on the base. Thereafter, wire can be dispensed from the spool.
U.S. Patent Publication 2007/0120003 for Geoffrey L. Grant discloses a caddy for spooled materials, which facilitates the removal and installation of spools of coiled materials (wire, cable, rope, cord, chain, etc.) within the device, while positively retaining the spools as material is withdrawn. The caddy includes a pair of opposed lateral frame members having a series of fixed crossmembers therebetween, which define a spool retaining cradle therein. A pivotally mounted arm extends from each frame member adjacent the first or rear fixed crossmember, with a spool retaining crossmember connecting the distal ends of the arms. When the movable cross-member is raised, sufficient room is provided between the first fixed crossmember and movable crossmember to allow a spool to be placed within or removed from the caddy. However, when the movable crossmember is lowered, the space between the first fixed crossmember and the movable crossmember is reduced to less than the diameter of the spool, thereby securing the spool in place.
U.S. Pat. No. D584,471 to Johannes Petrus Louis Diedericks discloses a wire and cable spool cart having a frame with a longitudinal backbone and two transverse supports at opposite ends thereof. Each of the transverse supports is equipped with a spaced apart swiveling wheel assemblies. An inverted L-shaped support, which is affixed to one end of the frame, is equipped with a plurality of transverse horizontal spool-mounting tubes, which extend from both sides of the L-shaped support. Multiple spools of wire may be placed on each end of a spool-mounting tube. Each end of a spool-mounting tube is equipped with a spool retainer.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,481,394 to John T. Gleason discloses a caddy for carrying spools of electrical wire. The caddy has complementary T-shaped slots in opposite side walls and members affixed between the side walls that support the spools, forming a cage, and one member rides within the T-shaped slot. The moving member may be pulled away from the cage to allow for room to release a spool from its cage, but the member will move by itself in response to movement of the caddy to keep the spool or spools locked within the cage.
U.S. Patent Publication 2010/0078514 for Jerry L. Thompson discloses a portable wire spool holding device that includes at least two separate mechanical devices for supporting a cross bar between two vertical supports. Each mechanical device can be comprised of three primary components: two gripping elements connected by a leveraged bar support element. The leveraged bar support element can be adapted to hold a cross bar member.
The heretofore described electrician racks and carts have one or more deficiencies. Some are overly complicated; others are unwieldy; others are not particularly portable; others are difficult to and still others are unnecessarily heavy. What is needed is a new type of carrier for spools wound with electrical wire and/or cable. The carrier should be relatively inexpensive, easy to manipulate, ultra compact, lightweight, easy to move without having to lift and carry it, simple to manufacture, easily rendered unmovable for the pulling of multiple wires, and capable of holding a number of spools of wire sufficient for serious electrical installation work.